


Little Ways

by golden_redhead



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Conversations, Established Relationship, M/M, No Spoilers, Plants, Platonic Relationships, Post-Graduation, astronaut!Kaito
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 18:09:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18504328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/golden_redhead/pseuds/golden_redhead
Summary: “I actually came because Momota-kun asked me to.”Kokichi blinks at him.“Eh?” he looks confused for a second but then the flicker of uncertainty that passes through his eyes is gone and he lets out a sudden gasp, pointing an accusatory finger in Shuichi’s direction. “Momota-chan talked with Saihara-chan? Is my beloved having a secret affair with Saihara-chan while I’m all alone on this cold, uncaring planet, waiting for the love of my life to come back?”“W-What?! N-no, I—” Shuichi stammers in bewilderment but Kokichi cuts him off before he can get out a single word of protest.“I knew this would happen!” he laments loudly, his eyelashes already wet and sticky with tears that well in the corners of his eyes. “I let him chase his dreams, like the good boyfriend that I am, and here he goes and breaks my heart! Does my love mean nothing to him?!”---Kaito has been on his first ever expedition to space for a few months now. He asks Shuichi to check up on Kokichi during his absence.





	Little Ways

“Hello, Ouma-kun,” smiles Shuichi awkwardly from where he’s standing at the door to the small apartment Kaito shared with Kokichi. “Can I, um… Can I come in?”

 

Kokichi cocks his head to the side.

 

“I dunno, Saihara-chan, caaan you?” he sing-songs teasingly but still moves out of the way, eyes curiously fixated on his unexpected guest.

 

Shuichi lets out a quiet sigh, as if he’s been expecting it to be harder, and hurries inside before Kokichi can change his mind, the door closing after him with a quiet and hollow sound.

 

Once at the genkan area, he slips his feet out of his shoes and puts them down, standing on the rough floor only in his socks since Kokichi didn’t offer him any slippers.

 

“Um,” he fidgets a little when he notices Kokichi’s stare, “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you, Ouma-kun?”

 

Kokichi instantly presses his hand to his forehead in an overly dramatic way. “I’ve been miserable! Absolutely miserable, Saihara-chan,” he cries, clearly channeling his inner melodrama star. “With my dear darling Momota-chan gone I am withering like a delicate flower! Who knows how long I can keep going like this!”

 

Shuichi offers him a crooked smile.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that, Ouma-kun,” he says politely and ignores the weird snort-like sound that Kokichi makes in response.

 

“Sooo, why is Saihara-chan paying a visit to wittle ol' me?” Kokichi leans forward, intrigued. “Have I done something wrong, Mr. Detective? Are you here to arrest me?”

 

Not waiting for an answer he theatrically shoves his bony wrists into the other boy’s face as if expecting him to handcuff him on the spot. “Take me away then!”

 

With a small raise of his eyebrows, Shuichi takes a step back, his gaze calculating when he looks at Kokichi’s face. He slowly reaches out to lower Kokichi’s hands, noting with a hint of a surprise how cold they are. “That won’t be necessary, Ouma-kun,” another awkward smile before he clears his throat. “I actually came because Momota-kun asked me to.”

 

Kokichi blinks at him.

 

“Eh?” he looks confused for a second but then the flicker of uncertainty that passes through his eyes is gone and he lets out a sudden gasp, pointing an accusatory finger in Shuichi’s direction. “Momota-chan talked with Saihara-chan? Is my beloved having a secret affair with Saihara-chan while I’m all alone on this cold, uncaring planet, waiting for the love of my life to come back?”

 

“W-What?! N-no, I—” Shuichi stammers in bewilderment but Kokichi cuts him off before he can get out a single word of protest.

 

“I knew this would happen!” he laments loudly, his eyelashes already wet and sticky with tears that well in the corners of his eyes. “I let him chase his dreams, like the good boyfriend that I am, and here he goes and breaks my heart! Does my love mean nothing to him?!”

 

Shuichi pinches the bridge of his nose.

 

He’s somehow managed to forget just how exhausting Kokichi could be when he really wanted to be. Briefly, he wonders if he’s being so troublesome on purpose. Maybe it’s some kind of deliberate punishment for not reaching out sooner.  

 

As far as he can tell, Kokichi is being even more difficult than he usually is and that’s saying something.

 

“Momota-kun and I aren’t having an affair,” he says patiently. “None of us have seen you in a while and you missed the last class reunion even though I know for a fact that shortly before that you confirmed with Tojo-san that you were gonna be there,” he explains, slowly. He observes Kokichi carefully for any sign of emotion but his face doesn’t betray anything in particular. It’s almost as if he can tell what Shuichi’s doing and refuses to be read like an open book. “I know that our relationship has been, um…” Shuichi looks to the side, trying to find the right words, “kind of... rocky, especially at first, but…” Shuichi trails off for a second, searching for the right words. Finally, he takes a deep breath and lifts his head, facing Kokichi more surely. “You are important to Momota-kun. You are our friend.”

 

He waits for some kind of reaction — some acknowledgment, maybe — but Kokichi just continues to stare at him. Shuichi decides to take it as a good sign. He takes a quiet shuddering breath, suddenly feeling oddly sheepish. Gold eyes look right into a pair of lilac ones as he holds Kokichi’s gaze. “And, uh, there’s also… Momota-kun asked me to check up on you.”

 

“Huuuh? Is Momota-chan asking Saihara-chan to stalk me? What a pervert!” Kokichi cackles obnoxiously.

 

Shuichi frowns. “No, that’s wrong! He just wants to know how you're doing.”

 

“Well, Saihara-chan can tell Momo-chan that I’m doing just peachy and he has nothing to worry about.” Kokichi smiles and Shuichi can’t help but think that it looks a little strained around the edges.

 

“Momota-kun is worried about you,” he says softly, voice firm and unwavering because he knows those things to be true and he wants Kokichi to know it, too. “He says that you don’t write as often as you used to and your messages are getting shorter and shorter.”

 

Kokichi raises an eyebrow, the smile playing on his lips turning into a smirk.

 

“Who knew that Momota-chan could be such a worry wart, nishishi,” he giggles, rocking on his heels, hands folded at the back of his head. “He knows that my world doesn’t revolve around him, riiight? Especially now that he’s in dumb-dumb space and not here. I’m the Ultimate Supreme Leader,” he puffs out his chest comically and Shuichi is stuck somewhere between snorting and rolling his eyes. He can’t decide which reaction is more appropriate. “I have important matters to attend to, ya know? I can’t spend my waking hours crying after him like some maiden whose sole goal in life is to make her love happy when he’s having fun in space! Nuh-uh!”

 

He crosses his arms over his chest, pouting childishly.

 

“No, of course not,” agrees Shuichi hurriedly.

 

Kokichi scoffs.

 

“Is that all Saihara-chan came here for?” He looks at him warily, eyes squinting so much that they turn into narrow slits. “To tell me that I’m a bad boyfriend?”

 

Shuichi shakes his head.

 

“No. Momota-kun also asked me to come here and make sure that his, um... that his plants are doing okay. To check if you haven’t killed them out of spite while he’s been gone,” he quotes one of Kaito’s last emails. He decides to leave out the part where Kaito wonders whether Kokichi had somehow managed to set the entire building on fire or not.

 

Kokichi lets out a loud dramatic gasp, eyes wide and hands pressed close to his heart.

 

“As if being a bad boyfriend wasn’t enough! Now you accuse me of being a murderer, Saihara-chan? In my own house? Rude!”

 

Shuichi sighs. “Now you’re just putting words in my mouth.”

 

Kokichi’s lips curl in an offended pout and he stomps his foot immaturely. “Fine! Saihara-chan can see for himself if he doesn’t believe me.”

 

He swiftly gestures to the living room and after a moment of hesitation Shuichi goes there, feeling strangely shy under Kokichi’s intense gaze.  

 

He takes a good long look at the line of bright-looking succulents set in a row on the windowsill, basking in the warmth of the sun seeping inside through the window. It’s quite a collection, plants of all colors and sizes kept in colorful flower pots (with a hint of amusement Shuichi notices that some of them are space-themed).   

 

Now, Shuichi is not an expert when it comes to these things, his own house had always been devoid of any kinds of plants, but it looks like Kaito’s worries were unwarranted. In the last three months of his absence, Kokichi must have been taking good care of his plants, that much is clear.

 

“They look good,” he voices his surprise and immediately cringes at the note of disbelief in his voice. “Uh, I mean... You seem to be taking really good care of them.”

 

One of Kokichi’s eyebrows shot up until it disappears behind the long strands of hair framing his face. He sounds genuinely amused when he responds. “I sure hope so, Saihara-chan. Otherwise, that would be domestic abuse!”

 

And just like that he’s lost him again.

 

“...Domestic abuse?” repeats Shuichi dumbly.

 

Kokichi nods his head enthusiastically.

 

“We live together, what’s his is mine and all that nonsense. And these are Momota-chan’s precious babies which also makes me their foster father!”

 

“I see,” says Shuichi but he really doesn’t. And judging by the look Kokichi sends him -  he isn’t a very convincing liar.

 

Clearing his throat, he turns back to the plants, if only to escape more of Kokichi’s teasing.

 

He gently traces the smooth vibrant-green leaf of one of Kaito’s succulents with his finger. He’s personally never understood the appeal of having house plants. Knowing himself as he did he knew he probably would have killed them within a couple of days if Kaito left them under his care. Despite his age, he barely knew how to take care of himself — too easily getting lost in his work only to realize that he's again gone the whole day without drinking or eating anything that could count as a proper meal — much less of a plant.

 

“They all seem to be in a great condition,” he comments, actually impressed. “Momota-kun really had nothing to worry about.”

 

“Momota-chan cares more about some stupid succulents than about me,” he hears Kokichi pretend-sniffling behind him.

 

It sounds more a bit sincere than the other man probably meant it to be.  

 

“Ah, but that’s not true. Ouma-kun really shouldn’t say things like that.”

 

Kaito’s feelings for Kokichi has been a surprise to them all, to say the least. The fact that Kokichi seemed to reciprocate those feelings was even more perplexing.

 

They’ve been the most unlikely couple he’s ever seen but somehow - Shuichi swears that he has no idea how - they worked. And despite how much their personalities clashed and the initial assumptions of their friends that they’ll strangle one another during one of their infamous arguments on their very first date - they’ve been together for a few years now.  

 

And Shuichi’s known Kaito long enough to know just how much this relationship means to him. He’s seen the way he looked at Kokichi when he hadn’t even fully understood his own feelings. He’s seen the way his face would light up whenever he spotted Kokichi’s face in the crowd, how he’s never seemed happier and full of life than in those moments when he would chase after the smaller man until they’re both breathless, chests heaving and laughter ringing in the air.

 

He doesn’t say any of this, though. He just hopes that Kokichi knows it, too. For his and Kaito’s sake.

 

Instead, he straightens up and smiles slightly, stealing one last glance at the windowsill. “Looks like everything’s fine. Thank you for taking care of Momota-kun’s plants, Ouma-kun.”

 

He bends in a half bow.

 

“Hmph! Of course, my dearest Saihara-chan,” responds Kokichi cheerfully. “Who do you think I am?”

 

Shuichi chuckles quietly. That’s a really good question but he decides to keep that to himself.

 

“Well, it’s been almost four months since Momota-kun left,” observes Shuichi, “I’m sure Ouma-kun must miss him very much.”

 

“Hm? Haven’t I already told you, Saihara-chan?” Kokichi looks up at him, eyes wide open in faux confusion and a finger pressed innocently against his cheek. “I’m a very busy supreme leader with thousands of devoted followers at my feet to keep me company. Momota-chan _who_?”

 

Shuichi thinks that the confident grin he flashes him is as convincing as ever but it’s hard to take him seriously when the damning evidence is right behind him.

 

Above Kokichi’s head, he can see a calendar hanging on the wall and a big red heart drawn around the date marking Kaito’s return. Right under the heart, there are little doodles of space rockets and aliens sticking their hands in a victory sign. His lips twitch in a smile and he thinks back to his own calendar in which the same date has been circled so many times that the pen almost cut through the paper.

 

They all miss him in their little ways.

 

“I see,” he says. “Well, I’ll be going then.”

 

He heads to the door. Kokichi follows after him and watches as he puts his shoes back on his feet at the genkan, leaning against the wall for support. Before the door can shut after him he turns to face Kokichi, a small smile gracing his lips.

 

“Hm? Has Saihara-chan forgotten something?" questions Kokichi, his head tilted to the side and a lazy smile stretched on his lips, the very picture of effortless nonchalance.

 

“I miss Momota-kun, too,” Shuichi admits quietly, sincere and only a little sheepish.

 

Kokichi stares at him for a long moment, face carefully devoid of any tells. Shuichi stays still under his sharp gaze, letting the words sink in.

 

He expects Kokichi to come up with another witty comeback at the implication but it never comes. Eventually, he nods, a simple gesture, and Shuichi can’t help but smile faintly.

 

He says his goodbyes and leaves. On his way home he crafts a short email to Kaito in which he informs him that both Kokichi and his plants are doing fine and are waiting for him.  

  


**Author's Note:**

> Look, I can write something other than angst!
> 
> I did some basic research for this fic and I think it's pretty cool that astronauts can contact their loved ones through email! Also, if you don't know what genkan is - it's a small area in Japanese houses where you can take off your shoes or where the pizza delivery guy would stand in order to give you your order or sth.
> 
> Anyways, I always wished that there were more fics in which Kaito actually leaves for a few months because of his job, so I decided to write one. I hope you enjoyed reading it and as always I cherish every comment!


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